Voters in at least three states will decide legislative proposals to change citizen-initiated ballot measure processes this year. Legislatures in Arizona, Arkansas, and South Dakota have passed constitutional amendments on ballot initiatives, and additional constitutional changes are being considered in Arizona and Missouri. In 2020, voters decided legislative referrals on ballot initiatives in Arkansas, Florida,…
Abortion has been a perennial issue for statewide ballot measures since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Since 2000, there have been just two general election cycles, 2002 and 2016, without abortion-related statewide ballot measures. In 2022, there will be at least four ballot measures addressing abortion — the most since 1986. If proponents of another…
In 2019, 74% of voters at the election on Nov. 5, 2019, voted to approve the Pennsylvania Marsy’s Law Crime Victims Rights Amendment. Results were never certified because the Commonwealth Court enjoined then-Acting Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar from certifying election results pending litigation. On Dec. 21, 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a 6-1 ruling,…
On Dec. 20, Ballotpedia published its year-end analysis of the 202 local ballot measures across 27 states in the 100 largest U.S. cities and state capitals. Ballotpedia’s year-end report breaks down the measures by type, by state, by topic, by outcome, and by election date. Here are some highlights from the report: There were 202…
On Nov. 2, voters approved Maine Question 1, which prohibited the construction of electric transmission lines defined as high-impact in the Upper Kennebec Region, including the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC). The ballot initiative also required a two-thirds vote of each state legislative chamber to approve high-impact electric transmission line projects. The NECEC is a planned 145-mile long, high-voltage…
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved a bill that contains five constitutional amendments, which voters would decide as distinct ballot measures, on Dec. 15. In April, the state Senate approved the bill as a single constitutional amendment. Since the House changed the bill to include more constitutional amendments, the bill returns to the Senate for…
On Nov. 19, the office of Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) announced that enough signatures were valid for a veto referendum to overturn an income tax bill that Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed on June 30, 2021. Since the veto referendum was certified, the targeted legislation will not go into effect until voters decide…
Voters in Detroit, Michigan, decided three ballot measures on Nov. 2, including two citizen-initiated initiatives and an advisory question. Proposal E (decriminalization of entheogenic plants such as psilocybin) and Proposal R (reparations committee creation) were approved. Proposal S was defeated. Proposal E was designed to decriminalize the possession and therapeutic use of entheogenic plants, including psilocybin mushrooms, peyote,…
Voters in Maine approved Question 1 on November 2. The citizen-initiated ballot measure received 59% of the vote with 97% of precincts reporting. Question 1 was designed to stop the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a 145-mile long, high-voltage transmission line project that would transmit around 1,200 megawatts from hydroelectric plants in Quebec to electric utilities…
Voters in New Jersey decided two constitutional amendments on Nov. 2, approving one and rejecting the other. Proposal 1 was rejected by 56.8% of voters. It would have allowed wagering on all college sports competitions. As of 2021, the state constitution permitted sports betting except on games held in New Jersey and on games featuring…